This hagwon is located just outside Sunae Station on the Bundang Line of the Seoul subway system. It’s on the fourth floor of a nearby building.

The owner and his wife (the manager) are thoroughly dishonest. They have been guilty of partial payments, late payments, and non-payments of salaries. All of the Korean and foreign teachers are fed up with those two. The couple who run the place have subject to numerous complaints; they've stiffed a number of teachers, including myself. This hagwon has an extremely high turnover of teachers and staff (North American and Korean).

They allege non-payment because of "improper teaching." However if one asks about that allegation to somebody other than the owner and his wife (the manager), everyone else will deny it. Furthermore, any other person working there would state, clearly and emphatically, that "Sam Kim,” the owner, and his wife lie to everybody and steal wages from their employees.

Teachers are not given individual desks, needed textbooks, or clear instructions about many of the rules, until something is not to the owner's liking. The manager never listens to the suggestions from teachers or the clerical staff. Each class is 41 minutes long; there is only 4 minutes between classes. During that short class time, student logs (at least 6) must be filled out by the teacher. The instructor must also write up a report about each student’s behavior, test score, and homework quality; homework assignments also must be checked and marked for each student. In addition to all of this, a lesson is supposed to be taught; a test given & graded, and individualized attention provided: ALL OF THIS WITHIN 41 MINUTES, PER CLASS AND FOR EVERY CLASS!

Beyond the classroom hassles, I had to remind the owner to pay me for my first month, which he did a day late. However, for the second month, he is now refusing to pay me for the allegation of driving students away from the language institute; he has furnisher no proof. After the 2-week waiting period, I plan to file a formal complaint with the Ministry of Labor. Hopefully, this action will eventually result in the payment of my September-October monthly salary. Fortunately, I only worked there part-time and am not dependent upon that employer for my visa.

In the meantime to one and all, avoid the language institute, “Kingspoint,” like the plague.